Bottle



lung 23, 1936. M GUTHRE 2,045,388

' BOTTLE Filed May 20, 1935 I Y WWW/1422 ATTO RN EYS.

Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE anon. Pa.

Application May 20, 1935, Serial No. 22,397

2 Claims.

My invention relates to bottles, and consists in means for preventing the re-use of a bottle as an original container.

For years and in great number various structures have been proposed to this end, but in most cases the proposed structures have been either commercially impractical or too costly to manufacture and install.

I aim to provide a bottle which, when once used, is permanently disfigured. It is further my object to provide a structure of extreme simplicity-a structure which may be manufactured and used conveniently at practically no more cost than the ordinary bottles in use today.

5 I am primarily concerned with bottles that are closed by means of screw caps or threaded closures, and the invention is particularly directed to a novel organization of bottle and screw cap.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. I is a fragmentary view in front elevation of a bottle embodying the invention; Fig. Ia is a fragmentary view, showing to larger scale the neck of the bottle shown in Fig. I; Fig. II is a view in plan from above of such bottle; Fig. III is a View in side elevation of a cap of well-known type, effectively modified, for use with the bottle; Fig. IV

is a view of the bottle in side elevation, showing the cap (partly in elevation and partly in vertical section) positioned and ready to be secured upon 39 the bottle; Fig. V is a view comparable with Fig.

IV, showing the completed assembly of bottle and cap; Fig. VI is a fragmentary view of a bottle neck to larger scale, and illustrating a cap of modified structure screwed into place on such neck and ready to be locked thereon in accordance with my invention; Fig. VII is a view of the last-mentioned cap in plan from above; Fig. VIII is a view comparable with Fig. VI showing the completed assembly; Fig. IX is a view similar to Fig. VI, showing another modification in cap design; and Fig. X is a sectional View, taken on the plane X--X of Fig. IX.

Referring to Figs. I to V of the drawing, a glass bottle I is fragmentarily indicated. The bottle is provided with a neck 2 whose upper portion is provided with external threads 3 for co -operation in well-known way with a screw cap or closure. A detent or lug 4 is integrally formed with the glass neck of the bottle; the detent projects angularly from the neck of the bottle, and is weakened for ready and clean fracture, advantageously by means of a surface cut (such as may be made by a diamond-pointed cutter), as indicated at 5 in Fig. II and Ia. The detent is of adequate strength to remain integrated with the bottle until it is intentionally broken on a predetermined line or plane of cleavage.

In Fig. III a bottle closure 6 is shown. This particular closure comprises a cap that includes a compressible gasket 1, cf. Fig. IV; the cap in- 3 cludes a cylindrical skirt portion 8 of relatively soft sheet metal, such as aluminum; the skirt extends downward from the top wall 9 of the cap and terminates in a peripheral bead It, and a recess or notch ll extends upward or inward from E) the peripheral edge or bead of the skirt. Save for the notch II, the structure of the closure 6 is substantially identical with a type of cap widely used in the art today.

In closing or sealing a bottle filled with the l3 desired contents, the cap 6 is placed over the neck of the bottle as shown in Fig. IV, the beaded notch or recess ll being brought to registry with the detent 4, so that the cap may be pressed downward over the mouth of the bottle, to comif) press the gasket 1 into bottle-sealing position. While the parts are so arranged, a thread is impressed in the skirt of the cap, such, for example, as in the manner fully explained in Patent No. 1, 684,892, granted September 18, 1928, 23 to John E. Sharp. The threads impressed in the skirt of the can (note Fig. V) engage the threads 3 on the bottle neck, whereby the closure is secured in bottle-sealing position. Lying within the notch l i, the detent 4 serves normally to pref "a vent the cap from being rotated for removal from the bottle.

When in the hands of the consumer, it becomes desirable to open the bottle, the detent 4 is tapped sharply with the heel of a bottle opener or other I"? handy implement, whereby the detent is fractured on the definite, predetermined line of weakness adjacent its base and falls free of the bottle.

It will be noted that the diamond cut 5 (or other surface scoring) is provided within the periphery "SJ of the applied cap. Thus, the detent or lug 4 is caused to break on a plane of cleavage so located with respect to the periphery of the skirt of the closure that once the lug has been broken the cap may be readily removed.

The destruction or rupture of the detent leaves a stub apparent upon the neck of the bottle. If the bottle is refilled with an illegitimate product and sealed, the presence of the stub, or the absence of the expected detent, on the bottle neck quickly signifies to a prospective purchaser that the bottle is not an original.

The usual finish bead 29 on the bottle neck 3 may be of interrupted continuity beneath the lug 55 II, as indicated at 40 in Figs. I, IV, and V, or it may be continuous throughout the circumference of the neck, as indicated in Fig. Ia.

It will be readily understood that a small recess may be formed in a bottle mold already in service, whereby the bottles blown to shape therein will be each provided with a detent Q. Manifestly, no substantial change in manufacturing procedure is required for the production of my bottle. Indeed, my non-reusable bottle may be manufactured for practically the same cost as the ordinary bottles they are intended to replace. And clearly it is a simple matter for the engineer so to change existing cap-making machines that the notch or recess I I may be formed in the otherwise standard closure 6. Accordingly, advantages long desired may be enjoyed with no appreciable increase in cost of manufacture, with no substantial increase in the quantity of materials required, and with no significant departure from the usual bottle-sealing practice. Additionally, the practice of my invention does not materially alter the appearance of the bottle, which is an item of concern in the case of those industries which have developed highly ornamental bottles in which to sell their products.

Another well-known form of screw cap or closure is supplied with the threads already in the skirt of the cap. The cap 6a in Fig. IX is illustrative. This form of cap, due to its rigid, threaded side wall or skirt, must be screwed into bottle-sealing position. In adapting such cap to this invention, I provide a band I2 of hard sheet metal, such as steel; the band I2 is provided with a flange l4 extending along its upper edge, and it includes a window l3, as shown; when the cap 6a is screwed tightly into bottle-sealing position, the band I2 is adjusted in the position shown in Fig. IX, with the detent 4b projecting through the window I3 and the flange I 4 overlying the peripheral bead Illa of the cap; then the ends of the band are united by spot-welding, or by bringing the ends of the band into overlapping relation (of. Fig. X), and then pressing them inward in the direction of the arrow, forminga so-called ship-joint. The closed band I2 does not directly prevent rotation of the cap 5a, but it does prevent the caps removal. That is, rotation of the cap causes the bead Illa. to bear against the flange I4, whereby the band I2 is raised until the lower edge of the window I3 bears against the nether face of the detent 41). Further rotation of the cap is manifestly prevented, until the detent 4b is broken away. The detent 4b is weakened at 5 (Fig. X) by a diamond cut or other surface scoring adjacent its region of integration with the bottle neck, whereby it may be cleanly broken off to permit closure removal.

In further refinement, the rigid Walled type of screw cap is flared outward at its peripheral edge, as shown in Fig. VI and VII; the outwardly flaring portion I5 is crimped radially of the cap, or is otherwise formed to include a recess Ila.

The threads on the bottle are so arranged or designed that, when the cap is run into bottlesealing position, the recess Ila will be located Cil Means are provided to effect the automaticdestruction or fracture of the detent, when the cap is intentionally unscrewed. Advantageously, the upper face of the detent 4a is tapered, as

shown in Fig. VIII, and the beaded edge portion I5a of the cap is so formed and arranged that, when the cap is unscrewed, the edge I5a rides with wedging effect over the detent, causing its rupture. The detent ia advantageously is weakened by means of a diamond cut, or the body of the detent is otherwise weakened after the bottle has been blown and cooled.

Notice is hereby given of my co-pending application Serial'No. 52,47 3, filed December 2, 1935, r

and covering a lug.

I claim as my invention: a

1. In a glass bottle having a threaded neck and a frangible lug integrally formed with and projecting angularly from said neck at a point below the mouth of the bottle, the combination of a screw closure including a threaded skirt portion and a peripheral rim portion initially so formed that the closure may without interference with said lug be screwed into bottle-sealing position on said threaded neck, said peripheral rim portion being adapted, when the closure has entered said bottle-sealing position, to yield downward into position of cooperation with said lug.

2. A glass bottle sealed with a bottle closure including a cap having a skirt portion extending downward over the bottle neck and in t1,eaded engagement therewith, a lug integrally formed with the bottle neck and projecting angularly therefrom and cooperating with said skirt portion to secure said cap against closure-removing rotation, and said lug (as the bottle is used in commerce as a sealed container fora saleable product) having a weakening surface scoring adjacent the region of angular mergence of the lug with the bottle neck and radially within the effective compass of the skirt of said closure, whereby the'lug may be intentionally broken away, leaving the resulting plane of fracture so located within said skirt that said cap may be readily rotated to open said closure.

bottle provided with a frangible JAMES M. GUTHRIE. 

